Today promises to be one of those days when I wonder how I can possibly do all the things I have to do in order to be ready for what comes next. As usual, the answer popped right up, this time from Macrina Wiederkehr on a circled page number of her book, Seven Sacred Pauses, which is subtitled Living Mindfully through the Hours of the Day. Whether or not I get all my tasks completed today, I hope at bedtime to feel as if all is right with the world as long as I remember the advice Macrina gives at this first hour.

If we practice living mindfully, we slowly begin to see the holiness of so many things that remain hidden when we choose to rush through the hours, striking tasks from the list of things we must accomplish by day’s end. It will be a happy moment when we remember to add the wise act of pausing to our to-do lists.

This pause can be as simple as standing attentively before a flowering plant or listening to the frogs in the pond. Perhaps we can stop for a cleansing breath: Breathe in the spirit of the hour; breathe in gratitude and compassion for yourself; breathe out love and encouragement for your co-workers, friends, family members. Your pause may be an awakening stretch, or sitting quietly and remembering your name. If you can learn the art of pausing, your work will prosper and be blessed. (p. 20-21)

Today, at 11:54 am, Google tells me, we in the northern hemisphere will mark – and perhaps celebrate – that moment that we call the summer solstice. It is the moment when the earth is bowing most graciously toward the sun, lyrically speaking, giving us our longest day of the year. I am always amazed when I begin to read all of the scientific research about the angle of tilt and how it has changed over billions of years, etc. to recognize the fact that all this continues to happen regularly – one might say “in spite of us.” So here is what might be a prayer in gratitude and desire for the blessing of earth’s relationship to the sun as we mark at 11:54 this miracle of our universe.

Beautiful reflection of divine light, shine on me at this noonday hour. Rejuvenate and invigorate me. Renew my commitment to the tasks of this day. Lead me to my courage. Warm what has grown cold in me. Energize all that has become lethargic. Enliven my growing moments. In the middle of this day help me to stand before my life with all who have gone before me, I pray. (seven sacred pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr, p. 105)

Waking up very early (5:20am) has its benefits as I am experiencing today. I need to be in my car by 7:30, in order to be able to breathe when I arrive at the retreat venue where I will share the day with probably about 50 people. During the event we will share reflections on three questions from the gospel of Mark:

Jesus, what do you want from us?

Who do you say that I am?

What is it you want me to do for you?

There is always a bit of trepidation on days like this, hoping that I have written – and/or will say – something relevant to the lives of those who participate in the retreat. The overarching feeling this morning, however, is gratitude and wonderment that I have been given this privilege. As I read a psalm prayer from Macrina Wiederkehr’s book, Seven Sacred Pauses, I am reminded that God is in charge of this day:

With joyful silence I receive the soft light of a new day, light born from earth’s turning. O Medicine of Dawn, healing are your morning rays. I lift my face toward the ointment of your splendor as I become a morning prayer. As Morning Blossoms, I go forth to meet the great shining, the dear unfolding of the day. With the fading night I begin a sacred dance in the arms of your shining.

I heard an urgency in the voice of Macrina Wiederkehr this morning in a prayer she wrote to the God of All. Take it with you today as a plea for what we need to stay the course of courage in this fragile world.

All peoples, all nations, all seasons, all years, all hours and days — You, who have invited us to love, hear our cry! Listen to our prayer. Make our spirits free, our hearts open, our minds healthy, our souls awake. Then we will be able to love as You have asked: with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls. The all is frightening, yet in our deepest moments of truth we know that this is what we desire. O God of all, hear us. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p.104)

Not having any inspiration this morning – nor even cogent thoughts for that matter, I have been searching the words of Macrina Wiederkehr for an expression that would mirror how I’m feeling. Since I am unable to recognize myself in anything I read, I choose simply to offer her prayer that begins: There are mornings when I simply sit in silence trying to remember some of the things that rise in me. Her list is challenging but maybe if I focus on even one of the elements, it will jump-start my motivation for the day. May this day be a blessing for each of us and all of us together as we rise to the call of the Spirit.

Macrina’s list includes a tolerance for those who don’t agree with me, a refusal to judge others, a willingness to forgive, greater effort to live with a non-violent heart, a calm and hopeful spirit in the midst of my anxieties, discipline in my daily personal prayer, attention and faithfulness in my daily work, a holy anger for the injustice in our world. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p. 63-4)

On the opening page of chapter 2 of her Seven Sacred Pauses, Macrina Wiederkehr writes about greeting the dawn. Toward the end of her reflection she offers words more meaningful than any I could string together as guidance for this day.

This is the awakening hour. This is the hour of praise. “O medicine of dawn; O healing drink of morning!” Offering both words and silence, I join in the dance of creation. What will this day be like? Will I choose to walk through the hours mindfully? “To affect the quality of the day is the highest of arts,” Henry David Thoreau tells us. And the mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi reminds us, “The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you; don’t go back to sleep.” Jesus says, “Stay awake.”

6:26am. No inkling of any light in the sky. The sound of one car braving the cold (17 F degrees). I know it must be snowing as all the reports last night telling of 45 states where snow will be a hazard today are likely true of us, but I cannot yet tell. Too tired to think much I turn to Macrina Wiederkehr for help, for a word…She says:

Out of darkness we come passing through dawn into day. Holding hands with dawn we clothe ourselves with light. We clothe ourselves with day. Out of the night we come, bathed and cradled in light, reaching through the dawn, we cover ourselves with day. Our beautiful bowl of life, so full of eternal questions, is filled to the brim with new light. Morning light, be kind, help us find peace of mind this day. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p.64)

I often spend time encouraging people to recognize and celebrate what is good about themselves because I find so many of us focusing mainly on our flaws and foibles. In workshops and retreats I have been known to give a piece of advice learned from a friend long ago. She tells groups of women (and sometimes men) to look in the mirror every morning and say, “What a woman!” (“What a guy!”) When I say that the whole room laughs and only once did someone admit practicing something like that compliment! When the laughter subsides, I ask why that was their response and what it says about our self-esteem. If humility is truth, we should be able to give ourselves a compliment without discomfort as long as we credit God for the provenance of the gifts we possess. Our reticence most likely comes from all those influences from childhood that encouraged us to be seen and not heard and never, never to brag. “All in moderation” and “Consider the Source” might have been more helpful.

Having said all this, I was interested in the tiny bit of squeamishness that arose in me as I read Macrina Wiederkehr’s reflection this morning called The Truth. As you do the same, consider your reaction.

I will believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is. I believe in my power to transform indifference into love. I believe I have an amazing gift to keep hope alive in the face of despair. I believe I have the remarkable skill of deleting bitterness from my life. I believe in my budding potential to live with a nonviolent heart. I believe in my passion to speak the truth even when it isn’t popular. I believe I have the strength of will to be peace in a world of violence. I believe in my miraculous capacity for unconditional love. I will believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p. 109)

Perhaps we would do well to create our own list of beautiful truths. Some of us may have to start small; Macrina must’ve spent a long time developing her list. But if you dug deep and kept looking in that mirror, (honestly try now) what would your list include?

After my wild July of travel and retreats it is good to be home. Although my “routine” is never regular (a cherished reality of my life) the alternating round of office work and spiritual conversations and tasks at home gives me ample opportunity for what Macrina Wiederkehr speaks of as the practice of presence that leads to praise. I recognize my life in what I read this morning from her book, Seven Sacred Pauses, when she says the following:Learning to trust the healing properties of the beauty that surrounds me has become a spiritual discipline in my life. It takes practice, yet when I am faithful to the practice, I find it increasingly medicinal. There is a seed of praise in each of us. If it is watered with the daily practice of presence, it will find its voice in our lives and be good company for us on our pilgrimage through the day. (p. 54)

It doesn’t have to be notice of anything extraordinary, although the noticing itself might create the sense of amazement in us. Take for example my joy yesterday as I climbed on our tractor-mower for the first time in a month. (Are you tired yet of my inordinate attachment to that machine?) As I rolled across the land heading for the far field I noticed a small cluster of three leaves on a transplanted hibiscus bush that we had mostly given up for dead. Now I have reason to hope for the beauty that I know is in her to return next spring! An hour later down in the back field I had to stop just to look around: the sky was so blue, punctuated with cumulus clouds playing hide and seek with the sun. For the first time in weeks the air was light and the breeze was cool and the praise that rose in me was palpable joy – just for the beauty of it all.

I know my life is greatly blessed and I do not forget those who need to work hard to find the beauty that is mine without effort on my part. Today my prayer is for those people who are not yet motivated to look around for what loveliness they may find. Especially, however, is my prayer for those who hearts and eyes are open to such gifts, that they may feel and see – even in the smallest thing – the beauty that exists around and inside of them. And, oh yes, for me great gratitude…every moment praise.